Reviews by flagmantho:

Appearance: nice medium-amber hue with a little bit of haze and a moderate effervescence. Head is two thick fingers of frothy light-tan foam. Quite attractive.

Smell: strong malty aroma with a prickly and sweet character, rather like an American Strong Ale (into which category this beer could also easily be placed). A big earthy, citrusy hop aroma is also present. Not bad at all.

Taste: big sweet malt with lots of caramel character. Strong citrusy hops are present right up front and toward the end, although bitterness is quite low considering the huge hop presence here. Good, but it could be smoother.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and a nice, satisfying creaminess. Good stuff.

Overall: a tasty and interesting amber ale, this could probably be better classified as a strong ale. Still, pretty tasty and, while not particularly smooth, is surprisingly drinkable for a beer clocking in at near 10% alcohol.

More User Reviews:

Yeasty orange-bronze with a beautiful roseate glow when backlit. AleSmith YuleSmith is a gorgeous tropical sunset of a beer. The orangish, pale caramel crown is thick, creamy and sticky in consistency. Amazingly intricate, filagreed lace decorates the glass like frost on a Christmas morning windowpane. Outstanding!

The aroma is superb. A supernova-like hop explosion greets even a passing sniff. Deeper inhales threaten to blow the top off my head with twin cannons named 'Mr. Hop' and 'Mr. Malt'. There's a perfect melding of caramel and candied grapefruit peel, with a modicum of passionfruit for good measure. These guys are more than alesmiths, they're alemagicians.

YuleSmith is bliss in a glass. To approximate the flavor, melt a hug slab of caramel... The rich, sweet, caramel-toffee backbone is mastadon-sized, with big, meaty ribs. Without all that malt running interference, this sucker would be a tongue-shredding hop bomb of the highest order. Each side of the malt-hop dyad continually ups the ante throughout each mouthful.

This AleSmith ale is the quintessential balanced DIPA. That is, malt is given at least as much attention and respect as hops. Only my undying love for unbalanced hop bombs keeps the flavor score from perfection. Each sip delivers a mouthfilling, controlled explosion of sweet, sticky, hop-flecked, syrupy, fruity, bitter, caramel-drizzled pleasure. How in the world can four simple ingredients result in such an amazing elixir?

I don't know if there are any adjectives left to describe what this beer feels like in the mouth. How about full, chewy, syrupy, sticky, velvety... perfect. Any less wouldn't be enough and any more would be too much. I hate to use the word 'sensuous', but it fits.

I respect those who adore subtlety. I respect those who appreciate the nuances that different strains of yeast can provide. I respect those who like funk and those who like complexity. I'm with them on all counts. But if I can open only one present on Christmas morning, make mine a YuleSmith.

In a pint glass this beer was a hazy red/brown color with a medium-sized tan head. It had a fruity aroma, as well as some biscuit. Cherry/dark fruit taste, bread, and a bunch of hops. Nice balance, sweet up front and hops bitterness at the end. Great beer.

A very interesting balance of malt and hop flavor. Usually, a beer has one or the other, but the Winter Yulesmith has both. Orange/Red/Brown color is interesting. Awesome mouthfeel. Hoppy and dry aftertaste. Spicy aroma.

I would recommend this beer to beer enthusiasts that have never drank it before. But if you're thinking about getting it for someone else, ask if they have already had it. You'd be better off spending your money on a Founder's six-pack, but it's worth a shot.

Drinkability: An above average amber where the alcohol hits hard. This is the first AleSmith offering that has not totally blown me away however. Not a bad beer, just one that I am not likely to pick up again.

The beer pours a reddish-amber color with a cream-colored head. The aroma is strong orange and citrus with some caramel malts. The flavor is bitter orange peel with a nice caramel malt backbone. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice. Bottled on 10/07/13.

Appearance: Pours a deep and somewhat hazy amber red with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid three fingers of off white head which slowly fade into a thinner creamy layer. Leaves a decent amount of lacing clinging to the glass.